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Marco's Pizza president/COO to appear on 'Undercover Boss'

Marco's Pizza announced that President and Chief Operating Officer Bryon Stephens will be featured on CBS' award-winning series "Undercover Boss."

January 18, 2016

Marco's Pizza announced that President and Chief Operating Officer Bryon Stephens will appear on CBS' award-winning series "Undercover Boss." Stephens' undercover experience — which he described as "eye-opening" — provided new insights that resulted in meaningful changes for the brand and its employees, according to a company press release.

The Marco's Pizza episode will air on the CBS Television Network at 8 p.m. ET Friday, Jan. 29. During the episode, Marco's Pizza will be hosting a live chat on Twitter via @MarcosPizza and will respond in real-time to any conversations using #UndercoverBoss. In addition, starting Jan. 21 until the airing of the episode, Marco's Pizza locations will offer an "Undercover Deal" in which consumers can join the Marco's Pizza e-club to unlock a secret promotion.

"Our mission is for Marco's Pizza to be the pizza of choice, the employer of choice and the business partner of choice," Stephens said. "Everything we do revolves around that mission. Being on Undercover Boss provided a golden opportunity to get an inside look from the perspective of the employee, the franchisee and the customer. The discoveries I made during the journey were eye-opening."

On the episode, Stephens, disguised as a bearded, middle-aged man named "Jay" trying to map out his future career, worked as a Marco's pizza delivery driver, cashier, pizza maker, and loading trucks late-night at the company's distribution center in Toledo, Ohio. Along the way, he gets a first-hand look at the business model's strengths and flaws, as well as the personal and professional struggles of employees and franchisees, the release stated.

As a result of the "Undercover Boss" journey, Stephens instituted new policies at the company, including a requirement that all corporate office staff work at least one day a year at a Marco's store to keep in touch with what it's like to be a front-line employee.

"Undercover Boss" is a two-time Emmy Award-winning reality series that follows high-level executives as they slip anonymously into the rank-and-file of their own organizations. Each week, a different leader will go on an undercover mission to examine the inner workings of their operation.

"We are opening new stores at a fast pace," Stephens said. "Going undercover afforded me the unprecedented opportunity to expose issues and address them so that we can continue to grow — smart. I also came away from this journey with an indelible sense of pride for our employees on the front lines. When it boils down to it, it's about our product and the hardworking people behind it."